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Texas is second-most dangerous state for wildfires, list says

Austin American-Statesman (TX)

July 27--In the last week alone, three wildfires have burned through parts of central Texas. There was one in Llano County. One inside Pace Bend Park. And in Burnet County on Monday, a wildfire spread to 850 acres, according to officials.

It's wildfire season in Texas. The triple digit temperatures Central Texas has been experiencing lately only exasperate the fires once they start, but the state as a whole is one of the most dangerous states for wildfires, according to a new list.

Move.org, a website that helps people find professional movers, recently compiled a list of the most dangerous states for wildfires. Texas was No. 2, beaten out only by California.

The list was created by looking at the Insurance Information Institute's study on the number of acres burned by wildfires and the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)'s statistics on the property damaged cost from wildfires.

According to that data, Texas wildfires burned 734,682 acres of land in 2017, and also caused more than $25 million in property damage ($25,470,000, to be exact). That places Texas at No. 2 for property damage and No. 4 for acres burned.

The Texas areas that Move.org says were most affected by wildfires in 2017 were Ochiltree County, Swisher County, San Patricio, Hockley County and Gonzales.

According to Move.org, the country as a whole experienced 71,499 wildfires in 2017, and a third of those happened in only five states.

To prevent wildfires, make sure you aren't littering (don't mess with Texas, y'all), make sure you abide by burn bans, don't carelessly discard debris, clean up after your campfire sites and always stamp out your cigarette butts. Read more about wildfire prevention here.